Nearly three in five women aged 25 and older have no life insurance at all, worrying research from Aegon has indicated. The What Really Matters Report from Aegon UK revealed how women aged 25 and over, and mothers of under 18 year olds in particular, do not have protection cover.more

Nearly 650,000 UK workers call in sick each week, according to figures from the British Heart Foundation’s Health at Work programme. This means that up to 2% of the workforce are absent due to illness each week.

Customers can now choose from the Fixed Plan, whereby fixed premiums are paid in return for a fixed cash sum being paid upon death, the Increasing Plan, the value of which rises with inflation, and the Funeral Plan, aimed to protect against rising funeral costs.

Premiums stop when the policyholder reaches the age of 90, but the cover continues automatically until death. With the exception of the Fixed Plan, benefit and premiums are reviewed annually to ensure they remain correlative with inflation, while the policyholder can choose to freeze their sum assured at any time if they wish.

Alan Ferguson, director of marketing and channel development at Legal & General, explained that most people take out life insurance to help family members with funeral expenses, unpaid bills, or to leave a gift for children or grandchildren.

The new range of Legal & General life insurance products will "give people the flexibility to choose the product which best serves their needs," Mr Ferguson said.

"Over 50s plans can provide valuable peace of mind at a difficult and emotional time."